If you are running a factory, you will know that economic uncertainty can arrive quickly and dramatically and that no one is totally immune to its effects; however, there are things you can do to ensure that you are making the most of your resources and your workers. Here are five tips to help you to quickly improve your efficiency.

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1: Review your client list

It may sound strange to suggest that you improve your business by reducing the number of clients you have, but it is a good idea to check your client database. Some clients are simply less profitable than others, so review your books! Rank your customers by profitability and by the amount of time and resources they consume. It is obviously the good clients that you need to cultivate.

2: Evaluate your line

Keep an eye on your production process. There is always room for improvement and the first thing you need to do is to work out exactly where any problems are occurring. Is there one area that suffers more breakdowns than others? Are there personnel or equipment changes that will address this?

3: Work out how much your bottlenecks are costing

There will be points in the production process that hold things up; however, you do not need to change everything, especially not straight away. Work out which problems are costing you the most and which can be removed or improved quickly and/or cheaply. Do you need new equipment, such as a ductwork blast gate damper from a stockist such as http://www.dustspares.co.uk/Blast-Gate-Damper.html, or is there a workaround?

4: Set goals

Once you know what you need to do, you should implement it in stages – a step-by-step approach will not interrupt your existing workflow. Set goals for different teams and ensure that everyone involved knows what is happening, what they must do, and when they should do it.

5: Reward creative ideas

Your employees work in your factory; therefore, they know how it works and it is in their interest to help it to work better. It is in your interest to make sure that bright ideas are acknowledged, through an efficient communication system, and rewarded via a consistent and fair system. This is a sure way to achieve success in manufacturing.